Good race

I ran a full-marathon today.

Even after I finished my first ultra-marathon in September, I kept running on a regular basis. However, my work-out was not enough in amount. I did know it was not a decent enough training to wish to renew my personal record, so I decided to try to have fun before and during the race this time. I refrained from paying too much attention to training, conditioning, diet, and so on. Only one rule I made was to stop drinking beer just for a week before the race.

It was very calm and warm, and I must say the best condition for a marathon race. I kept a good pace at 4m50s-5m/km from the start to 30km. Around  there, I found a runner in an orange shirt and I compete with each other. When he passed me by, I tried to catch up with him by all means, and when I passed through him, he followed me hard. I felt seriously tired on the way to 35km, and I first talked to him to ask if he was OK. Then, he said, "I'm too tired, too, but I'll do my best." The rest was only several kilometers, and I replied "Let's hang in there to the goal." Company on the marathon road makes every suffering light!

Thanks to him, I could keep the pace. When I passed through the 40km point, I suddently felt my power emerge and put out a last spurt. I finally reached the goal a little faster than him, and we shook hands with each other. My time was 3h28m43s (net). It was NOT my personal best, but I could fully enjoy the race.